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Rape and revenge film
Rape and revenge films are a subgenre of exploitation film that was particularly popular in the 1970s. Explanation of the subgenre Rape and revenge films generally follow the same three-act structure: * Act I: A usually female character is (violently) raped and maybe further abused, tortured or left for dead. * Act II: The character survives and/or rehabilitates themselves. * Act III: The character exacts revenge and/or kills their rapist(s). In some cases, the character is incapacitated or killed at the end of the first act, and the "revenge" is carried out by their family, as in The Virgin Spring, I Saw the Devil, Nocturnal Animals, the original The Last House on the Left, The House of the Spirits, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. In Gaspar Noé's 2002 film Irréversible, the structure was reversed, with the first act depicting the revenge before tracing back the events which led to that point. Roger Ebert argues that, by using this structure as well as a false revenge, Irréversible cannot be classified as an exploitation film, as no exploitation of the subject matter takes place. The genre has attracted critical attention. Much of this critical attention comes from feminist critics examining the complex politics involved in the genre and its impact on cinema more generally. More recently, a broad analysis of the rape-revenge genre and concept was published in Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study, by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. The book argues against a simplistic notion of the term 'rape-revenge' and suggests a film-specific approach in order to avoid generalizing films which may "diverge not over the treatment of sexual assault as much as they do in regard to the morality of the revenge act." In addition to American and French films, rape/revenge films have been made in Japan (e.g., Takashi Ishii's Freeze Me), Finland, Russia (The Voroshilov Sharpshooter), Argentina (e.g., I'll Never Die Alone; 2008; original title: No Moriré Sola), and Norway (e.g., The Whore 2009; original title: Hora). Examples in film * 13 Assassins * 22 Female Kottayam * 6 Guns * American Mary * Avenged * Bad Reputation * Bandit Queen * Baise-moi * Big Driver * [[The Birth of a Nation (2016 film)|''The Birth of a Nation (2016)]] * BloodRayne''https://www.allmovie.com/movie/bloodrayne-v312877 * ''The Crow * Coward of the County * Daughter of Darkness * Death Rides a Horse * Death Weekend (a.k.a. The House by the Lake) * Death Wish * Death Wish II * Demented (1980 film) * ¡Dispara! * Elle * Even Lambs have Teeth * Extremities * Eye for an Eye * Fear Island * Girls Against Boys * ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' (2009) * ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' (2011) * Gone * Grave of the Vampire''https://www.allmovie.com/movie/grave-of-the-vampire-v20533 * ''A Gun for Jennifer * Gutterballs * Hannie Caulder * Hollow Man * Hora * The Horseman * The House of the Spirits * I Saw the Devil * ''I Spit on Your Grave'' (1978) * ''I Spit on Your Grave'' (2010) * I Spit on Your Grave 2 * I Spit on Your Grave III: Vengeance is Mine * Irréversible * Jackson County Jail * Jungle Warriors * Kill Bill * Kill the Rapist? * Kuroneko * The Ladies Club * Lady Snowblood * Lady Vengeance * ''The Last House on the Left'' (1972) * ''The Last House on the Left'' (2009) * Last Stop on the Night Train * ''Lipstick * Liquid Sky * Maleficent – Allegorical * Ms .45 *Naan Sigappu Manithan'' * Nocturnal Animals * Otis * Rape of Love * Rape Story * Red Sonja * Revenge (2017 film) * Revengers Tragedy * Rings * Riot on Sunset Strip * Rise: Blood Hunter * Run! Bitch Run! * Savage Streets * Savage Vengeance * Savages * A Serbian Film * ''Shutter'' (2004) * ''Shutter'' (2008) * Sin City * Skin Trade''https://www.allmovie.com/movie/skin-trade-v617224 * ''Sleepers * The Stranger * ''Straw Dogs'' (1971) * ''Straw Dogs'' (2011) * Sudden Death (1985) (a.k.a. Dirty Harriet) * Sudden Impact * Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance * Teeth * Thriller – A Cruel Picture * Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives * Titus (1999), a modernized adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus * Tomcats (1977) (a.k.a. Avenged) (a.k.a. Deadbeat) * The Virgin Spring * Voroshilov Sharpshooter * Vulgar * Wild Things * Wild Things 2 * Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough * Wild Things: Foursome See also * Captivity narrative * Vigilante References Category:Film genres Category:Films about rape Category:Rape and revenge films Category:Thriller films by genre Category:Exploitation films